by John Glube,
© 2003, all rights reserved of Head's Up - A
Copywriter's Journal
Did I get your attention, while arousing your curiosity? Good.
Now, you might ask 'What the heck has the Art of War got to do
with Internet marketing?' 'I mean, aren't we supposed to smother
our customers with love and kindness?'
Know anything about the 'Art of War'?
It is a study of various military strategic principles, written
over 2,000 years ago by Sun Tzu, a mysterious Chinese
philosopher, showing the reader how to apply these principles in
different tactical situations in the field of war.
Let me show you something fascinating. Take this statement and
apply it to the world of Internet marketing. Here is what you
get:
The science of internet marketing is the study of strategic
principles and learning how to apply these principles in
different tactical situations while doing business online.
Sound familiar? So is this just word play, or is there a point?
Seven points actually.
Speaking as a student of Internet marketing:
- You want to understand why people act, or respond in certain
ways. These triggering principles are well known, including the
power of telling a story, candor and the reason why. Master
these and you will master the art of writing compelling copy.
- Read, understand and apply the core work on direct marketing,
being 'Scientific Advertising', by Claude Hopkins, the key
primer on how to generate traffic being '7 Secrets to Unlimited
Traffic', by Allen Says and the 'Affiliate Master's Course' by
Ken Evoy. Of course, there are other valuable marketing books
and reports, but master these three and you will be well on the
way.
- Copy the marketing works of the 'leaders' to gain the rhythm
and flow of the words, so learning how to put together your
marketing messages.
- Use the medium as your message. The Internet is the
information highway, not the advertising thruway, which is why
in my view and based on my limited testing, advertorial style
copy and news headlines make more compelling copy for the web.
(This one is hard to follow, 'cause we tend to fall into what I
call 'advertising speak'.)
- Always remember to write to you, not I. After finishing your
material, put it aside until the next day. Then read it aloud to
yourself. Ask yourself:
- Does it sound like a sell job, or does it come from within?
- Does it sound stand-offish, or personal and familiar?
- Put yourself in the shoes of the reader and imagine you are
writing to only one person. Does your guard go up? Or do you
feel compelled to buy without being sold?
- Apply what you learn on a daily basis, be methodical and
consistent in marketing your business, (boring perhaps, but
true), retain your focus, and continually test and measure your
results.
Soon, before you know it, you will find yourself transformed
into a Marketer.
John Glube, Publisher and Editor of Head's Up, A Copywriter's
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